Philippine general election, 2010
Presidential elections, legislative elections and local elections in the Philippines will be held on Monday, May 10, 2010. The elected president will become the 15th President of the Philippines, succeeding President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is barred from seeking re-election due to term restrictions. The successor of the Vice-President Noli de Castro will be the 15th Vice President of the Philippines. The legislators elected in the 2010 elections will join the senators of the 2007 elections and will comprise the 15th Congress of the Philippines. The 2010 election will be administered by the Commission on Elections in compliance with the Republic Act No. 9369,http://www.senate.gov.ph/republic_acts/RA%209369.pdf also known as Amended Computerization Act of 2007. It will be the first national computerized election in the history of the Philippines. Local elections are also to be held in all provinces, cities and municipalities. There are currently more than 85,000 candidates for only 17,000 national and local positions and it is believed that the youth will have the swing vote in this election as 40% of voters are 18-35 and there are a potential 3 million first-time voters.Continuity or Change? In cases where a candidate is running unopposed, that candidate only has to win one vote in order to be considered elected. President The presidential candidate with the most number of votes will be declared the winner. A separate election is held for the vice president; the two elected officials need not to be running mates in order to be elected. Congress Senate One-half of the Senate of the Philippines will be up for election. The Philippines uses plurality-at-large voting for seats in the Senate. House of Representatives All seats in the House are up for election, elections will be done for legislative districts and party-list. Local All elective local positions are up; a voter may elect a mayor, vice mayor and a varying number of councilors. If the voter resides in a province, the voter may elect a governor, vice governor and board members. Notable races include: *Manila local elections, 2010: Incumbent mayor and former senator Alfredo Lim and Department of Environment and Natural Resources secretary and former mayor Lito Atienza face off in the mayoral elections. *Quezon City local elections, 2010: Incumbent vice mayor and actor Herbert Bautista, former mayor Ismael Mathay, Jr. former Presidential Chief of Staff and former 3rd District Representative Mike Defensor and 2nd District Representative Mary Ann Susano squaring off in the mayoral elections. *Bohol local elections, 2010: Award-winning actor and director Cesar Montano will join the race with the two members of Bohol's prominent political clans, incumbent and three-term 1st District Representative Edgar M. Chatto and three-term vice governor Julius Caesar Herrera, in provincial gubernatorial election. *Marinduque local elections, 2010: Incumbent governor Jose Antonio N. Carrion of Lakas-Kampi-CMD will be challenged by Carmencita Reyes of the Liberal Party for the upcoming elections. *Caloocan local elections, 2010: Incumbent mayor Enrico "Recom" Echiverri of the Liberal Party will be challenged by Lakas-Kampi-CMD candidate Baby Asistio. *Mountain Province local elections, 2010: For the lone congressional seat, incumbent governor Maximo Dalog will be challenged by Mayor Jupiter Dominguez and Mayor Frank Odsey. *Laguna local elections, 2010: A four-way gubernatorial race ensues among Provincial Administrator Dennis "DSL" Lazaro, incumbent vice governor Ramil Hernandez, Pagsanjan mayor Emilio Ramon Ejercito, and former governor Joey Lina. Their running mates are Los Baños Mayor Caesar Perez, Dave Almarinez, San Pablo City Councilor Ellen Reyes, and Soy Oruga-Mercado, respectively. *Taguig local elections, 2010: Former Associate Justice and Former Congressman Dante O. Tinga, and Taguig City Congresswoman Ma. Laarni Lopez-Cayetano squaring off in the mayoral elections while Incumbent Vice Mayor George Elias and Entrepreneur Ferdie Santos will face off in the vice mayoral race. Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes backs out of race for Taguig Mayor. *Batangas local elections, 2010: Actress and incumbent governor Vilma Santos-Recto will be facing off against former governor Arman Sanchez in the gubernatorial race in the province of Batangas. *Valenzuela local elections, 2010: General issues In a decision dated December 2, 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that appointive officials seeking positions in the elections need not resign from their posts, striking down Section 4(a) of COMELEC Resolution 8678, Section 13 of Republic Act 9369, and Section 66 of the Omnibus Election Code as unconstitutional, "for being violative of the equal protection clause and for being overbroad." There has been a great deal of concern over the capability of the COMELEC to oversee a fully automated election process, especially since the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) system has never been fully piloted in the Philippines and a breakdown could lead to a failed election.Insider's Diary: History of (Non) Automation Election-related violence Prior to the end of the filing of certificates of candidacy, the COMELEC had anticipated several areas to be named as "election hotspots". On November 23, 2009, the entourage of the wife of Buluan, Maguindanao Esmael Mangudadatu who is running for provincial governor, including journalists, were abducted and killed in the province's Ampatuan town. Before she was killed, Mangudadatu's wife blamed provincial governor Andal Ampatuan, Jr. as the culprit. Ampatuan Jr. was later arrested. After several arms and military vehicles were seized in Ampatuans' properties and government installations, President Arroyo declared martial law in parts of the province not controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on December 4. On December 28, 2009, a candidate for councilor died, and two incumbent officials were wounded in an ambush in Dingras, Ilocos Norte. The gunmen fired at the convoy including barangay chairwoman Joen Caniete, who was running for councilor under the Nacionalista Party; the wounded included a sitting councilor and a provincial board member. In Sorsogon, Julio Esquivias, a Nacionalista candidate for councilor in the town of Casiguran, died due to a gunshot wound after he was shot by an unidentified gunman. In a command conference by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and the COMELEC, 14 election "hotspots" were identified. They are Abra, Ilocos Norte, Masbate and Nueva Ecija in Luzon, Samar (Western Samar), Eastern Samar and Antique in the Visayas, and Basilan, Sulu, Maguindanao, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Sarangani, and Zamboanga Sibugay in Mindanao. Worsening private armed violence is a serious security concern that has the capacity to undermine the 2010 elections. Even though a commission has already been formed to dismantle private armies, skeptics are unconvinced that the government can succeed in this task as it has a poor track record at dealing with the ongoing problem of internal violence.Issues Snapshots: Security and Radicalism Party-switching As election day approaches, several politicians switched political parties in order to gain votes and funding for the campaign. Many switches were controversial, with the ruling party Lakas Kampi CMD having the most defections, most of which went either to the Liberal Party or to the Nacionalista Party. The politicians who switched parties after the start of the local campaign period are: Furthermore, figures such as Luis Singson resigned from Lakas and endorsed a candidate aside from Gilberto Teodoro, but did not join another party. Singson endorsed Villar, then resigned from Lakas, but has not joined Villar's Nacionalista Party. References External links *Official website of the Commission on Elections * Category:2010 elections in the Philippines Category:Browse